Almost

Blair didn't really want to make this phone call. He knew that Jim would be furious, irate, every angry word in the book because Blair was going to be late. And it all started because of a single roller skate. A roller skate. A roller skate that some jackass had left in the middle of the hallway outside Blair's office.

A roller skate that Blair stepped on, lost his balance, pin wheeled his arms and lost the order of twenty-five unstapled term papers from his last class. Twenty-five unstapled term papers that just had to be graded before the weekend.

Blair sighed. He'd wasted three and a half hours putting the papers back together and then another eight grading them, which now made it eleven forty-five. Which was an hour and forty-five minutes AFTER he was supposed to be home. He sighed again.

His hand hovered over the receiver of the phone as he debated which story would get him in the least amount of trouble and the least sore ass. That his watch had stopped and he didn't realize the time got away, or he just forgot to call?

As his hand hovered, he was jolted out of his debate by the ringing of the phone, which sparked a whole new debate. He knew it was Jim--should he answer it or not.

"Sandburg."

"Hello, Chief." Jim's voice was a quiet whisper over the phone. "Why don't you come out of your office and look out the window at the end of the hall?"

"I'm, uh, not going to like what I'm going to see, am I, Jim?"

There was no response, so Blair put down the phone and did as Jim told him, walking to the end of the hall and looked out the second-story window. Jim was standing in the middle of the grassy quad, waving up at Blair with one hand, the other resting in a fist on his hip. "Fuck."

Jim used the hand he was waving with to point back to the office, and Blair rushed to pick up the phone. "I heard that, Chief."

"Jim... you didn't have to come all the day down here..."

"Sure I did, when my lover who should have been home over an hour and a half ago didn't show up and didn't see fit to call... oh, and don't worry about the Volvo, I have the keys in my pocket, and it'll keep until I drop you off in the morning."

Blair dropped his face into his hands. "Come on up."

"Thanks, Chief, see you in a minute." Jim hung up, and Blair shook his head. Jim had to be furious, that he had to come out and chase him down. *So much for not getting busted,* he thought with a sigh.

Jim knocked on the glass door, and then called Blair again. "Hey, Darwin... you're going to have to unlock that door if you want me to come in," he said into the phone, and waited. He could hear Blair coming down the stairs in a hurry to open the door for him, and he smiled at the Guide as he opened the door. "Nervous, Chief?"

"Me? Nervous? Why would I be nervous?" Blair almost tripped on the second step and Jim caught him, steadying him. "Not at all."

Jim chuckled. "I'm not going to bust your ass until we get home," Jim said, and Blair's shoulders slumped slightly. "And the only reason I'm coming up here is to make sure that you're not putting OFF coming home."

"Gee, put off coming home to getting my ass busted? Why would I try and avoid that?" he sneered at the Sentinel. He always got pouty when it was time, and he hated it.

Jim's large hand came down and gripped one of Blair's cheeks tightly. "I don't know, maybe wondering if you'll be able to sit down at all tomorrow?" He let go, and picked up his coffee cup, pouring a cup. "The answer, by the way, is no."

"No?"

"No, you won't be able to sit down at all tomorrow."

"Jim! You don't know what happened!"

"And has that ever stopped the rules from being followed?" Jim asked gently.

"No," Blair said sulkily.

"Then why should it now?"

"All right, all right, all right! Let me pack up these last term papers and then we're ready to go!"

Jim picked up the sheaf of papers and shoved them into Blair's backpack, and then passed it to the Guide. "Good. All ready to go." He put his hand on the back of Blair's neck, and steered him towards the door. "Out, Chief."

Blair jumped as he felt Jim's hand on the back of his neck, and cringed. That was not good that Jim wasn't taking his hand off. That meant he was going to be in some really big trouble. "Hey, uh, Jim... nice night, huh?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, great night. Great night to sit at home and worry about your headstrong partner. Great night to wonder if your mate is safe or not. Wonderful night to get out and drag his slack ass home."

*Yikes.* Blair cringed. Jim was really hauling out the big guns, but that was a good thing. The longer he talked, the more of his frustration he got out and the less severe his ass busting.

Blair kept Jim talking the whole way back to the loft, cringing with each of the Sentinel's sarcastic remarks. Finally, Jim brought the truck to a stop in front of the loft, and got out, pulling Blair with him. He jerked the Guide upstairs, and pushed him gently through the door. "On the couch, Chief." Jim sat down in the overstuffed chair, and Blair winced. He really hated Jim sitting in that chair, that was the spanking chair. He dropped obediently onto the couch. "All right, Blair, let me hear it."

Blair explained how he'd slipped on the rollerskate and had to sort all the papers and then grade them for the next day, and Jim had to laugh. "You should have called me, Chief, I'd have helped you put them back together."

"Uh, well, uh," Blair stammered. He couldn't think of a single reason why he hadn't called Jim to help.

"That's what I thought," Jim said. "Over here, Chief." He pointed to his lap, and Blair sighed.

"Jim, do I have to? Can't you just... send me to bed without supper or something?" he protested.

Jim said nothing, still pointing to his lap. Blair sighed again, deeply, and draped himself over Jim's lap. He'd known this was coming, after all, he'd tried like hell to avoid it but his Karma must have been truly fucked. He unbuckled his belt and slid his jeans down, as well as the tight briefs and showed Jim his bare backside.

Jim ran his hand gently over Blair's bare ass, reaching into the pocket on the side of the chair and pulling out a tube of cocoa butter. He carefully rubbed the lotion onto the smooth skin of his lover's backside, giving it a layer of protection before he started. Then, he dropped the tube back into the pocket and brought his hand down sharply on Blair's bare bottom. Blair winced, and Jim frowned, shaking his hand. He reached into the pocket again and found by touch the worn wooden hairbrush, applying the flat back of it against the curve of Sandburg's cheeks. Over and over again, Jim rained firm and steady blows onto Blair's upturned cheeks, listening to Blair's cries and comforting him as best he could while administering punishment. Blair did not try and run from the brush coming down on him, and when Jim was done, he cradled Blair in his lap, and applied a second coating of cocoa butter to the red and burning skin of Blair's backside. "It'll be okay, Chief, I promise," Jim whispered. "We'll go upstairs and soak in a cold tub of water and cool off, and then we'll talk," he continued, soothing the hiccuping cries of his lover.

Jim ran his fingers through Blair's hair, and pressed the man's cheek against his chest. "You always worry me, Blair, when I'm not around."

Blair just snuffed again, and Jim started running his fingers through the curls on Sandburg's chest. "It's okay, Blair," he said softly. "I just had to make sure you were okay."

Blair knew his big lover cared about him, and that's why he worried, he just wished that sometimes, the worry took a less physical form than on his ass. "I love you, Jim."

"I love you too, Blair," Jim said softly, and sighed. Deep inside, he always feared that Blair would end up hating him and he never relaxed until he heard his lover reassure him.

The rhythm of Jim running his fingers through Blair's chest hair calmed the man in his lap, and Jim felt his body relax slightly, and smiled as Blair's arms snaked around his neck. "Come on, let's go get into that tub." He lifted the half-limp Guide into his arms as he carried him towards the stairs.